The present invention relates to methods and systems that enable service providers to expedite services to customers in a mobile environment, and more particularly, to methods and systems that enable service providers to receive an order from customers in a mobile environment and schedule the completion of the customer's order to coincide with the customer's arrival at a local facility able to satisfy the customer's order.
Busy people are constantly seeking ways to save time and are easily frustrated when they have to wait lengthy periods of time to receive goods or services from a service provider. Service providers recognize that shorter waiting periods increase customer satisfaction which ultimately results in increased sales. Accordingly, it is desirable for service providers to adopt methods of doing business that eliminate or greatly reduce the time the customer spends waiting to receive goods or services.
Many technological devices exist today that promise to reduce the amount of time people spend completing routine tasks. Computers, for example, increase productivity by automating routine tasks, freeing up time for people to do other things while waiting for the computer to complete the task. New mobile technologies, such as cellular phones, permit people to perform routine tasks, like shopping or ordering meals, while away from home or commuting. The popularity of "drive-thru" services further attests to people's increased mobility and desire to purchase goods and services from their cars.
Today's consumers are increasingly demanding that service providers deliver goods and services with a minimal amount of time spent waiting and often choose to patronize the service provider that promises the quickest response time. Customers traditionally have relied on two methods for reducing time spent waiting to pick up ordered goods: phone-in advance orders and "drive-thru" processes.
The traditional "drive-thru" process is inherently inefficient, however, because customers typically place their orders at the facility and then must wait for the goods to be produced. Efforts to reduce wait time by streamlining the drive-thru process have their own drawbacks and, in addition, only have reduced, but not eliminated, the amount of time the customer waits in line. The three window concept, or one window each for ordering, paying, and pick-up, for example, requires service providers to have more people involved in the ordering process and requires new building construction. Another disadvantage of this solution is that it is not readily adaptable to markets other than fast food meal processes.
Another approach by service providers to take advantage of waiting times by collocating their services with other processes that have unavoidable waiting periods. For example, people often experience lengthy wait times in airports, ski-lift lines or gas stations. Collocation is likewise unacceptable because it would require the service providers to build new facilities or obtain permits to operate in these other facilities. Furthermore, this solution offers the service provider only the opportunity to service customers whose primary mission is the other process and does not allow service providers to offer enhanced service to loyal customers who do not frequent the host facilities.
A system where the customer uses a conventional phone to call in orders to the service provider from the home or office also is flawed. Customers, for example, may have a number of errands to run and may not be able to predict accurately when they will arrive at the pick-up facility. Because service providers typically begin processing an order upon receipt, this system may mean that the order is available for pick-up well before the customer arrives which is unsatisfactory in many situations, particularly when the order is for prepared, perishable items. Customers also may lose time by placing an order with a provider that either does not have the capacity to fill their order, or is not the closest facility to their next errand.
Technology exists, however, that would allow a service provider to determine the exact location, speed and direction of a mobile customer that calls in to place an order and to schedule the order accordingly. The invention combines customer tracking capability with estimated arrival time-based scheduling techniques to allow service providers to manage their resources more efficiently and reduce customer waiting times to a minimum. The invention allows the time sequence for an order process to be superimposed onto the time sequence while customers are mobile en route to the supplier.
As is apparent from the above-described deficiencies with conventional systems, a need exists for a user-friendly method that reduces or eliminates the time a customer in a mobile environment waits to receive an order.
A further need exists for a method and system for receiving orders from mobile locations, determining the customer's location, and determining a local facility capable of completing the order based on the customer's location.
Yet another need exists for a method and system that allows service providers to schedule the completion of an order to coincide with the customer's arrival at the local facility.
A further need exists for a system that allows the service provider to offer the consumer individualized packages and specials specifically tailored to meet the individual needs of that consumer.